Not only has Gov. Perry implied that he is against a way of life protected by the freedoms of this nation, but after signing the proposed amendment, which is unnecessary, at a Christian school, also unnecessary, he announced to the world that Texas shall be a place where bigotry and discrimination thrive. If you don’t like it and want to vote against legislative oppression, then move to “a state that has more lenient views than Texas.” Apparently in Texas, if you disagree with the Christian Right, you should just get out.
This proposition is about making anyone who is not heterosexual second-class citizens. It would define marriage as only between one man and one woman and would prevent anyone from recognizing anything that is similar to marriage between anyone but one man and one woman. It’s not only eliminating same-sex marriage but civil unions, as well. Denying someone marriage based upon sex is no different than denying marriage based upon ethnicity. There is a huge debate over whether homosexuality and bisexuality are biological traits or if they’re a choice. I didn’t choose to be heterosexual, so I’m betting that people don’t choose to be homosexual or bisexual, either. If there’s even the slightest possibility that science can back that up, then denying people basic civil rights because of who they are attracted to is wrong, and it’s my opinion that it’s wrong to do that anyway.
Even if you believe that homosexuality and bisexuality are sins, because that’s what your religion tells you, you should vote against this amendment. Religion has no place in democratic law. This country and the state of Texas are not theocracies. It’s wrong to force your religion onto everyone else with a law. A vote against Proposition 2 is not a vote for same-sex marriage, but it is a vote against denying rights and forcing religious beliefs upon everyone in the state. It should be up to the churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other houses of worship to decide who they want to marry, not up to the state.
This nation has slowly been moving towards granting full rights and protection under the law for homosexual and bisexual men and women. The Supreme Court has ruled recently that a state law against sodomy is unconstitutional. But, they have also ruled that it’s alright to fire a woman because she’s a lesbian. This has prompted huge waves of grassroots movements committed to getting “sexual orientation” added to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Amendment.
Even if this amendment passes, it will most likely be struck down by federal judges. In 1996, the Supreme Court declared a Colorado law that declared that homosexual and bisexual people could not be specially protected by law to be unconstitutional. In the Lawrence v. Texas decision, the majority opinion declared that homosexual citizens should enjoy equal “autonomy” for “personal decisions relating to marriage, procreation, contraception, family relationships, child rearing and education.” It’s been one year since 11 states voted to limit gay rights in marriage, and it’s only a matter of time until the Supreme Court strikes those laws down, along with Proposition 2 if it passes.
If the voters decide that it’s okay to take away rights of marriage and civil unions to homosexual and bisexual people, then what other rights will it be okay to take away? Education at a state school? Health care? Medical treatment? Employment at state agencies? What if the state next decides that it wants to take away the rights of those who disagree with it?
It is up to my fellow Texans to decide which way we want our state to be run. Do we want a state where anyone who dissents is told to leave the state so that the state can deny rights to whomever it chooses, or do we want a state that believes in the freedoms of democracy and protects all the citizens and supports that all men and women were created equal and therefore have certain unalienable rights?
If you still need another reason to vote against it, the Ku Klux Klan has announced plans for a pre-election rally in Austin in support of Proposition 2.
Kathryn Rowe is a senior anthropology and English major. She may be contacted at [email protected].
